


The Power of Two

by Latias425



Category: Original Work
Genre: Adventure, Coming of Age, Dimension Travel, Dragon Riders, Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-30
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-07-20 19:31:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 21,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16144007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Latias425/pseuds/Latias425
Summary: Young Maximus Kohlberg finds a strange egg in the middle of his backyard one night, and later discovers that it's actually a dragon's egg, and it hatches into a water dragon that he names Zahira. Due to the possible dangers of a dragon existing on Earth, the boy does whatever he can to keep the dragon a secret and hidden from the world, and as the two of them grow up, they learn to love and trust one another like family. However, when another dragon and its rider attack their home one day, they soon learn that they're destined to be the next Water Dragon and Rider, and with the guidance of another rider who happens to be the brother of the previous Water Rider, they train to stop Damascus, the Divine Dragon of Darkness and restore the Aesirian Dragon Order.





	1. Prologue

Pitch black clouds covered the sky and purple bolts of lightning struck in the distance. What looked to be some kind of sacred temple that rested on a mountain high above the dark sky was nothing but ruins, and the eternal flame that brought peace to all of the civilizations around it was snuffed out.

In the midst of the destruction stood a tall and powerful dragon with scales as dark as the night, sharp, shining purple eyes, claws, and horns, and a dark crescent moon symbol on its grey underbelly. It stood over another mighty dragon, who was lying on the ground in the middle of a pile of rubble mortally wounded. Several black slashes covered its bright white body and the sun symbol on its chest was fading away.

 _"Damascus...why? Wh...Why did you do this?"_  the light dragon asked weakly, her golden eyes struggling to stay open.

_"Because I had to, Sheria. This world has been going corrupt, and the only way to fix it was to destroy everything the Order stood for."_

_"G-Going corrupt?! D-Do you realize what you have done, Damascus?! You have taken thousands of innocent lives and the knowledge of hundreds of worlds are gone forever! And what about the Elemental Dragons?!"_

_"I'll tell you about the Elemental Dragons!"_  Damascus roared as he placed his claw on Sheria's throat, causing her to let out a gasp as she struggled in his grasp.  _"Once the descendants are born, then all of the dragons and their riders will be bowing down to me! I will be the one to rule Aesir!"_

 _"N-No, you...you can't, Damascus. One of us...can't rule...without the other. That's...That's how the...Order collapses."_  Sheria said, her vision getting weaker and her strength diminishing.

 _"Oh, please. You really think that some stupid Order is what keeps the world in peace and harmony? Clearly you haven't been doing your job."_  Damascus replied, and then he took his dark claw and slit Sheria's throat, leaving her gasping and struggling on the ground as her blood poured out onto the ground around her. As he left the divine Dragon of Light to die, he and looked out onto the destruction that was unfolding down below at the many towns. "Step one of my plan is complete. Now to move on to step two: get all of the Elemental Dragons under my command."

**Two months later...**

Water. There was something about it that felt...peaceful. Just staring at a river or a lake could make you deep in thought at wondering what lay under there.

Inside a tranquil lake, a magnificent creature swam its way through. This creature was a large and mythical one, and it had bright blue scales that glistened in the light that shone in the water. Its sea green eyes shone brightly like stars in the night sky, and its wings blended with the water and they were propelling its body as it continued to swim around.

The dragon swam through the water, and then it grabbed a couple of fish in its mouth and rose up towards the surface and flew right into the night sky, its azure scales shimmering in the moonlight. It then flew up towards a cave on the side of a mountain where a human in blue and silver armor was waiting by a fire.

 _"Master Xandir, I have caught some dinner for us."_  the dragon spoke through telepathy as it put down some fish in front of her master.

"Cool. Thank you, Azura."

 _"You are welcome, Master Xandir."_  the water dragon named Azura replied, and while her master was busy cooking their dinner, she went into the cave where they were staying at for the night. She walked down a small corridor with torches lighting the way until she reached the end of it where a marble pedestal stood. Standing on the pedestal was a small blue egg with cyan wave-like patterns on it which looked just like the ones on her wings.  _"My child."_  Azura whispered as she took the egg off the pedestal and cradled it in her claws.

This dragon's egg was a very special one, as it had the next Aqua Dragon inside it. Being one of the six Elemental Dragons of the Aesir Order, Azura was the one that controlled the sea. She lived along with the dragons of fire, earth, and wind, and they lived in harmony under the watchful eyes of the Divine Dragons of Light and Darkness Sheria and Damascus. However, after a betrayal, Damascus killed Sheria, destroyed the Order and took the other three Elemental Dragons under his command. The dark dragon wanted to take her egg to be raised for the new order that he was creating along with the other eggs of the next generation of Elemental Dragons. Azura didn't want her child to be a soldier of that traitor, so her and her rider Xandir fled their hometown of Asgard and to Mirage Isle where they would be sure that the child would be safe and no one would be able to find them. They were almost there, and the two of them decided to stop at Altair Peak for the night and they would be heading to Mirage Isle first thing in the morning.

Suddenly, Azura felt a sense of alarm rush through her body. Whatever it was, it wasn't good. She quickly put the egg back on the pedestal and hurried to the entrance of the cave where Xandir looked out over on the horizon.

 _"What is it, Master Xandir?"_  Azura asked, frowning as she could sense the fear in her rider.

"They're coming." Xandir gasped under his breath. "Quick Azura, get the egg and let's get out of here before they find us!"

 _"Yes, Master Xandir."_  Azura nodded and she quickly flew back into the cave to retrieve the egg. Xandir quickly rushed inside as well and began to dig through his bag that was near the entrance. He pulled out a double sided spear and a shield that had a water droplet symbol on them. He also found a spell book inside, just in case they were to get caught with the egg and they didn't have any other option. He really didn't want to have to use the other option in case they got caught by Damascus's generals. They had to get to Mirage Isle and fast.

Azura then came back to the entrance of the cave with the egg in her claws. Xandir quickly took it from her and carefully put it in his bag and then got on her back.

"Come on, Azura. We might be able to make it if we hurry."

 _"Yes, Master Xandir."_  Azura nodded and she quickly took off and headed towards the peak of the mountain.

* * *

Not too far away from the mountain, two dragons were walking through a forest. The first one had crimson red scales and fierce amber eyes with a light yellow underbelly, and its wings looked like they were charred. The other had dirt brown scales that looked to be as tough as rock with a tan underbelly and jade green eyes and wings that had the shape of waves of sand. The flame and mountain symbols on their chests were outlined in black and glowing with a dark purple aura. Riding on the two dragons were two men with cloaks in colors that matched with their respective dragons.

"What can you see, Homura?" the man in the red cloak asked as his dragon stopped.

The crimson red dragon looked up through the trees and spotted another dragon and their master flying up a mountain in the distance.  _"Xandir and Azura. They're heading to Mirage Isle."_

"So that's where they're heading. Come on, Atum." the man in the brown cloak ordered, and the two dragons took off towards the escaping aqua dragon and rider.

* * *

Azura continued to fly up the mountain with Xander on her back.

"Come on, come on, we're almost there." Xandir muttered to himself, hoping and praying that they would make it to Mirage Isle before they get found by Damascus's generals. However, his hopes were soon shattered as a huge stream of fire suddenly shot through the air and right towards them. Azura quickly noticed the incoming attack and managed to move out of the way.

 _"Oh, no. They found us."_  Azura muttered with dread in her voice, and when she tried to fly faster, a huge stone pillar suddenly rose up from the ground right in front of them and she flew right into it and her and her rider fell to the ground.

Xandir quickly recovered and looked up to see two dragons coming towards them and fast. "Oh no, this is not good!" He took the egg out of his bag. He knew that they weren't going to get to Mirage Isle in time. "Azura...we have to use the other option."

Azura gasped.  _"Other option?! You don't mean..."_

Xandir nodded. "Yes. We have to do a Dimensional Warp."

_"But Master Xandir, it's really dangerous to do a Dimensional Warp! There's a chance the egg might not-"_

"I know the risks of doing a Dimensional Warp." Xandir said as the two corrupted dragons were getting closer to them. "But it looks like we don't have any other choice. I would rather have the child be thrown in the universe than be in the hands of that monster. Quick Azura, use your Aqua Shield!"

 _"Y-Yes, Master Xandir."_  Azura replied with slight sadness in her voice, and as the two dragons flew closer, the water droplet symbol on her chest began to glow brightly and with a loud roar, a large blue barrier surrounded them. The two dragons flew right at the barrier and started to furiously strike it with their claws.  _"Hurry, Master Xandir! I don't think the shield will be able to stand for very long!"_

Xandir nodded and quickly went into action. He didn't think he would have to do this, sending this dragon's egg to who knows where without knowing if it would even make it. He took out the spell book out of his bag and began to recite a spell in another language. As soon as he finished, the egg in his hands started glowing and it slowly disappeared into specks of light before it completely faded away into nothingness.

"Good luck, little one. I hope whoever finds you will take good care of you." Xandir said, and he then turned to his dragon partner. He could tell that Azura was very upset that her child was gone through their mental link, but they didn't have time to grieve as he saw something. "Azura, look out!"

As soon as he said that, the Aqua Shield finally broke and Azura backed away as the two dragons confronted them.

"Daemon. Zemlja." Xandir muttered under his breath.

"Where's the aqua egg?" the earth rider named Zemlja asked.

Xandir hesitated for a moment, and then answered, "We...We don't have it."

"Liar! You have the egg that holds the future Aqua Dragon! That's why you two ran away like little ninnies in the first place!" the fire rider named Daemon exclaimed.

"You didn't think we would find you, but we did. Now hand over the egg so that Master Damascus can have an Aqua Dragon for the new order!" Zemlja ordered.

"No! Never!" Xandir shouted.

"Fine then. Atum." Zemlja commanded. The earth dragon nodded and stomped his front claw on the ground, causing several pointed rocks to spike out of the ground towards the aquatic dragon and her master. Azura managed to avoid them, and retaliated with a deep breath and a whirlpool shot from her mouth towards the two dragons, who also dodged the attack. Xandir quickly got on his dragon's back and they quickly tried to flee. The fire and earth dragons flew up and chased after them.

 _"Give us the egg! And while you're at it, just join us and we won't kill you!"_  Homura the fire dragon roared.

 _"No! We'll never let you have my child or join you, you traitors!"_  Azura shouted, and then she charged towards the two rogue dragons with her claws glowing bright blue.

Suddenly, a large bolt of lightning struck right between the three fighting dragons, causing them to be thrown back from the force. The fire and earth dragons weren't fazed by the strike, while Xandir and Azura were from it. Once they recovered, they looked to see that another dragon and their master was now right in between them. The dragon with glowing yellow scales, wings like an angel, and a wind symbol which was also outlined in black and purple on its beige underbelly was staring right at them with its icy blue eyes.

"Shira. Kiari." Xandir muttered under his breath.

"Enough with this! We will settle this once and for all! Shira, Thunder Breath!" Kiari shouted, and then the wind dragon name Shira began charging an electric attack as they prepared to finish the two runaways off right then and there.

 _"Master Xandir..."_  Azura whispered with sadness in her voice.  _"This...This is it."_

"I...I suppose it is." Xandir replied, realizing that there was nothing they could do. This was the end of the line for them. Any attempt to escape now would be futile. As the two waited for the wind dragon to unleash her electric attack to end their lives, they thought about the egg that they sent into infinity, hoping that it would have a safe home with whoever it was that would find it.

* * *

The egg traveled through infinite time and space, passing by many dimensions as it went through the seemingly endless multiverse. Eventually, it reached a destination.

It was a quiet night in an ordinary suburban neighborhood, when a bright blue light suddenly shone in the middle of a backyard and after about a minute, it faded, leaving the egg behind. Not a single soul saw this happen. No one that is, except for a three-year-old boy who witnessed it from his bedroom window.


	2. The Arrival

Three-year-old Maximus Kohlberg was awoken by a bright blue light shining through his bedroom window. At first, the sudden flash frightened him, but eventually he became curious and looked out his window to see what was going on. Once the bright light had cleared, the auburn-haired boy looked to see that some kind of blue object was now resting in the middle of his backyard.

"Woah..." Max gasped with stars in his green eyes, and he quickly jumped out of bed and headed towards the door to see what it was that suddenly appeared in his backyard. He tiptoed quietly down the hall, being extra careful not to wake up his mother. When Max reached the back door, he opened it and headed outside to the backyard and gasped at what he saw. Sitting in the grass was a giant blue egg with cyan wave-like patterns on it, and he picked it up and looked at it in awe.

"Wow, this is a really big egg! I can't wait to have Mommy cook it for breakfast tomorrow!" And with that, Max went back inside with the egg, humming to himself as he imagined the egg being cooked on a plate in the morning.

* * *

The next morning, Max woke up and smiled upon seeing the egg resting right next to him with blankets wrapped around it.

"Good morning, little egg! Ready to become a delicious breakfast?" He grabbed the egg and hopped off his bed and ran out of his room and into the kitchen where his red-headed mother was busy cooking breakfast with her back turned to him. "Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Look what I found in the backyard last night! It's a giant egg and I wanna have it for breakfast!" Max shouted, jumping up and down excitedly with the egg raised over his head as he tried to show it to her.

"Sorry sweetie, but Mommy's already making pancakes. We can have eggs tomorrow. You know I have to work today." Avery Kohlberg replied, not turning around to see her son or the egg.

"But Mommy, this egg is big and blue and it looks like it came from another world! What if it hatches into a giant mutant alien chicken that wants to take over the world?!"

"Oh, well, maybe you could go stop the giant mutant alien chicken from taking over the world." Avery suggested, still keeping her focus on cooking the pancakes.

"Alright, Mommy! I'll go save the world from the giant mutant alien chicken!" Max declared, and he then ran off back to his room, giggling as he did.

"Ah, kids and their imagination." Avery sighed with a smile.

* * *

Using his Legos and other toys, Max had set up a city scenery on his play table, and the egg had been placed in the middle of it with a stuffed toy on top of it.

"Oh, no! A giant mutant alien chicken is about to attack the city!" a doll exclaimed in a falsetto voice.

"Don't worry, everyone! Super Max is here to save the day!" Max announced as he jumped up onto the table with a mask on and his blanket tied around his neck to resemble a cape. "I'll save the city from the alien chicken!" He began to pretend to fight the stuffed doll, making all sorts of fighting noises and it soon fell to the floor with a soft thud. "I did it! The world is saved thanks to Super Ma-woah!" Max suddenly slipped on his cape and fell to the floor, causing the egg to wobble off the table and land in his hands. He then leaned closer to it and stared at it with narrow eyes. "Don't think I'm finished with you, egg! I may be young and naive, but I know what you're up to! TV has showed me that I am perfectly capable of stopping aliens like you, and there is absolutely nothing that can stop me from-"

"Max! Breakfast!"

"Oh, boy! Breakfast!" Max exclaimed as he got up and ran out of his room. As soon as he shut the door, the egg started to move slightly.

* * *

Luckily it was a Saturday, which meant that Max had no school, but his mother had to work from home in her office and she had several important calls that she had to make and she wasn't to be interrupted during any of them. Luckily, he had enough to do to keep himself occupied during those calls.

"Man, that was a good breakfast. Now to check back on the-" Max went back into his room and stopped at what he saw. The city scenery was a complete mess and broken eggs shells were scattered on the floor. Max realized what happened and gasped. "Oh, no! The mutant alien chicken hatched and it's in my room! What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna do?!" he asked as he frantically ran around the room. He then heard a loud thump coming from under his bed, and he froze. "H-Hello?" Max slowly got down on his hands and knees and looked under his bed, a large pair of eyes suddenly appeared and stared right at him. "Aah! It's the scary monster that lives under my bed! Please don't eat me!" he screamed as he curled into a ball, waiting for the monster to come and take him away.

Instead of hearing a sinister growl, Max heard a small and cute voice purr at him. He slowly opened his eyes and gasped at what he saw. Standing right in front of him was a magnificent creature, just about the size of a puppy, and it had azure blue scales with a turquoise underbelly and huge sea green eyes that could give anyone a heart attack just from looking at them, as well as tiny wings with a wave-like pattern that resembled the ocean waves, and a small tail that wagged excitedly.

"Woah, you're...you're a dragon!" Max gasped in awe, and the baby dragon inched closer to him with great curiosity. He slowly reached his hand out, afraid that it might bite him. The dragon looked at his hand curiously and sniffed it a few times, and then began to rub its head against it. "Awww, you're such a cute little dragon!" Max said, and then he noticed that his body was starting to glow. "Woah, am I getting superpowers?!" he asked excitedly, but it quickly faded away, and he didn't feel any different. "Aw, man! I wanted to be able to fly!" he pouted, and then the dragon suddenly jumped on him and started nuzzling him and licking his face. "H-Hey, st-stop it! Th-That tickles!" Max giggled as the dragon continued to lick him, and eventually it stopped and he sat up. "You think I'm your daddy, don't you? Well, I'm too young to be one, so how about I be your big brother instead? You wanna be part of the family with me and..." His eyes widened and he gasped. "What will Mommy think when she sees you?!" He hadn't thought about how his mother would react when she sees that a dragon had hatched in their house.

Suddenly, the dragon's belly rumbled, and it let out a little whimper.

"Oh, are you hungry, little dragon?" Max asked, and the dragon nodded in response. "Don't worry, I'll get you something to eat! Just stay right there, and I'll be right back!" He then left the room and shut the door behind him.

The little dragon looked around the room to see if there was anything that could satisfy its hunger until Max came back. It then noticed a blue binder sitting on the nightstand and grabbed onto it with its mouth and pulled it off. Several cards spilled out onto the floor and the dragon looked at them in awe and began to dig in.

* * *

Meanwhile, Max grabbed one of the chairs from the dining room table and pushed it into the kitchen towards the fridge. His mother was currently in the middle of a call, and he made sure to be as quiet as possible as he didn't want to interrupt her. "Let's see, what do dragons like to eat?" he asked as he stood on the chair looked through the fridge. "Hmm...do they like cheese? Nah, might be allergic. Vegetables? Nah, too icky." Max scanned through the fridge, wondering what foods dragons could possibly eat. "Meat! That must be it!" He grabbed a bag of deli meat and left the kitchen and headed back to his room, but not before pushing the chair back into the dining room.

"Okay, little dragon. Let's see what you like to-" Max stopped in his tracks when he saw something lying on the floor by his feet. He picked up the object, and it looked to be a shred of something, and then he looked to see that there was a bunch of other shreds scattered on the floor and that the dragon was digging through his binder. "My Hero cards!" Max gasped in horror, and the dragon stopped and turned to him with one of his cards in its mouth. He quickly went over to it and grabbed the card. "Let go! Give it back!" He managed to get the dragon to let go and looked at the ruined card. "Oh, no! Not Mr. Hayter!" He then turned to the dragon and yelled, "Bad dragon! Bad!" The dragon let out a whimper and lowered its head. The anger on Max's face faded and he petted the dragon to comfort it. "Oh, I'm sorry, little dragon. I didn't mean to yell at you." he apologized, and then he realized something. "Hey, I've haven't even given you a name." He looked at the scattered cards to see if he could find a good name for the dragon. "Let's see, how does Dyna-Moe sound?"

The dragon stuck its tongue out in disgust.

"You don't like that name, huh?" Max asked, and then he looked at another card. "How about...Baron von Bomber?"

The dragon let out a hiss in response.

"Lord Demeter?"

The dragon shook its head.

"Star Destroyer?"

The dragon blew a raspberry this time.

"Aw, you don't like any of the names I'm giving you!" Max whined, and then thought of something. "Wait a minute!" He quickly rushed over to the shelf and came back with a book with a picture of a large yellow dragon on the cover. "I've got the perfect name for you! Zahira! Do you like that name?" The dragon responded with a happy roar and flapped its wings excitedly. "Okay then. Zahira it is!" Max then remembered something. "Oh, I got you some meat. Better eat it before it goes bad." He then look out the bag of lunch meat, and Zahira looked at him in slight confusion. "This is called meat, and it comes from all different kinds of animals. We've got chicken, and ham, and turkey, and..." Before Max could finish, Zahira went over to him and began to wolf down the meats from the bag. "Hey wait, don't eat it all at once! I need some of that for my sandwiches for school!" He then noticed the dragon poking around at something in the closet. "What are you doing in there?" Zahira was sniffing at the pile of dirty clothes and pulled out a comic book and Max gasped upon seeing it. "Hey, I was wondering where that was!" He took the comic from the dragon and looked at it. It was a bit crinkly and smelly from being in a pile of dirty clothes, but he was happy to see that he managed to find it. "I thought I lost this! This is a very rare Dyna-Moe comic book! I bet it's gonna be worth thousands in a few years." He then sat down in a beanbag chair. "You must be like a dog. Having a good sense of smell and all."

Zahira then nudged Max's leg and looked up at the comic in his hands. It seemed to be very interested in it. He invited it to sit on his lap and began to show it the comic about a super hero named Dyna-Moe that goes around and fights crime. Zahira stared in awe at the colorful pictures and eye-popping action scenes. However, as Max read the comic to it, it began to feel pressure in its lower area and it felt like it needed to release and started hopping and squirming around on his lap.

"And then Dyna-Moe went 'pow' and stopped the evil Dr. Nemesis from brainwashing the citizens of Tranville!" Max exclaimed, and then he noticed that Zahira was doing a little dance on his lap. "I know, these fight scenes are really exciting! They get you all pumped up like you have to..." He soon realized what it was really doing and his eyes widened in horror. "Oh, no...Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Max picked up the dragon and quickly rushed to the bathroom.

* * *

A little over an hour later, Max returned to his room with a relieved Zahira. He stared out the window for a long while as he tried to fight away the horrifying images that he hoped he would never have to see again with all the mess that he had to clean up. He had much more respect for his mother with what she had to go through with him during his potty training days, and he made a vow to train the dragon with the toilet as soon as possible.

It was also at the bathroom when Max discovered that Zahira was a girl, or at least, he was certain she was, since she was missing a certain body part. He remembered that some kid at school once told him and his classmates that the difference between a girl and a boy was that boys had a thing called a "wiener" while girls didn't. He wasn't sure if that was true or not, so later that night he decided to ask his mother about it. Upon hearing her son ask her such a question, Avery ordered Max to get in the car and she drove them over to the kid's house where she proceeded to chew him out for spreading such "inappropriate information" to the other kids. Needless to say, it was pretty awkward and the kid never told the class about anything inappropriate after that.

"So...what do you wanna do now?" Max asked as he sat on his bed and stared at Zahira. The dragon was staring back at him with curious eyes, and then noticed something on the floor. She then jumped off the bed and came back with the book with the dragon on it in her mouth. "Oh, you want me to read you this?" he asked, and she nodded. "I don't know. There's some pretty big words in this book, but if you really want me to read it to you, then I will." Zahira then got on Max's lap and he began to read to her the tale of Zahira, the last Golden Dragon. Just as he thought, there were several words that he either had no idea what they meant or had a hard time pronouncing as he was still learning to read, but he did the best he could to read the story and Zahira listened attentively.

After Max got done reading the first chapter, he closed the book and saw Zahira sleeping in his lap all curled up like a cat. "Aww, she's so cute for a dragon."

"Max! Time for dinner!" Avery called out.

"Alright, Mommy!" Max called back, and then he gently picked up Zahira and put her on his bed, covering her up with his blanket. "Goodnight, Zahira. Sweet dreams." He then kissed her forehead and went out of his room and into the dining room. "What's for dinner, Mommy?"

"Well, I'm a bit tired from all the calls that I had today to really cook anything, so I just ordered us pizza." Avery answered, putting a slice of pepperoni pizza on two plates, one for her and the other for her son.

"Alright!" Max cheered, and he sat down and began eating. He was getting pretty hungry from playing with Zahira, and he with her asleep, he was done with his caretaking duties for the day and could use some himself. After finishing his second slice, Max asked, "Umm...Mommy? Are dragons real?"

"What is it with you and dragons lately?" Avery asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Um...I just like them. Are there any dragons?"

Avery chuckled. "No sweetie, dragons aren't real. They're nothing but myths."

"But Mommy, what if someone found a dragon here? What would they do to it?"

"Well, I don't know about that. They'd probably think that the dragon would be too dangerous to live here and try to get rid of it." Avery answered, causing Max to freeze at the thought of anyone discovering Zahira and taking her away from him, thinking that she would be too dangerous to live in this world that they would have to get rid of her.  _'No, that won't ever happen. Zahira's a nice dragon. I won't let anyone take her away from me.'_

Avery noticed the shocked look on her son's face and asked worriedly, "Max sweetie, are you okay?"

Max snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. "I-I'm fine, Mommy. It's just that...I wanna learn about dragons." he answered as he began to pick at his crust with a pout. "All we learn at school is boring stuff like colors and the ABCs. Why can't we learn about dragons?"

"Ah, don't worry, Maxie. You'll be learning much more things as you get older. Besides, I can take you to the library tomorrow after church. After all, reading's very important for a young boy like you." Avery replied as she ruffled her son's hair chuckling. "Now you finish up while I go use the bathroom."

As Avery got up and left to use the restroom, Max debated on whether or not he should tell his mother about Zahira, but he didn't know what her reaction would be. Would they really think that dragons are too dangerous to live in this world and take them away if they ever found one?  _'No one is going to take Zahira away from me. She is my sister, and I will always protect her no matter what.'_  As Max told himself that, he could feel a strange feeling in his heart. It was a warm and fuzzy feeling, almost as if Zahira was right with him, but she wasn't. He couldn't help but smile. He had welcomed a new addition to the Kohlberg family. Even if she was a dragon, she was still his sister, and there was absolutely nothing that could change that.


	3. Chapter 3

Sunday mornings were always boring for Max as his family had to go to church. However, this morning he took Zahira with him by hiding her in his backpack. While they were in the car, he allowed her to peek out the window, and she looked out at the outside world in awe.

Like Avery promised, after church was done she took Max to the library downtown where he hoped that he could get a book or two on how to take care of dragons. While she was looking at a magazine near the entrance, he headed over to the nonfiction section where he searched to find any dragon books.

"There's gotta be some dragon books around here somewhere." Max said to himself, and then Zahira poked her head out of his backpack and let out a little roar. "Oh, no no no, Zahira! You gotta be quiet!" He quickly shushed her, and he looked around to see if anyone heard them, and thankfully no one did. "We're in a library, Zahira. We have to be very quiet." Max whispered, and he quickly closed the lid on Zahira before she could try to get out. He then noticed a woman putting books on some shelves and went over to her. "Um...excuse me, do you have any books about dragons?"

The woman turned to him and smiled. "Oh, of course. They're right over here." Max was hopeful for a second, but became confused as she lead him to the fiction section. "We have all kinds of books about dragons that I'm sure you'll like. There's Dragon Rider, The Fire Within, Eragon, The Last Dragonslayer..."

"N-No, I don't mean those books. I mean do you have any ones on how to  _raise_  dragons?"

The woman looked surprised at this. "Oh, well...I don't really know if we have those books, but you can ask that lady over there. I'm sure she can help you find what you're looking for."

"Okay, thanks." Max then went over to the other lady. "Um...excuse me."

"What do you want, kid?"

"Do you have any books on how to raise dragons?"

"Oh, of course! They're right over there next to the books on unicorns and mermaids." the lady answered sarcastically.

"Okay, thank you."

The lady scoffed as she rolled her eyes. "You don't get it, do you, kid? Dragons are not real. They're nothing but myths that people make up."

"Oh yeah, well what if I found a real dragon and showed it to you?"

"Kid, if we ever found a real dragon the government would be getting rid of that thing in an instant. They would lock it up at Area 51 and torture it to death. Or they would perform experiments on it and turn it into a weapon of war. Or we could just cut it up and cook it to see if dragon meat tastes good."

Max didn't want to hear any more and he quickly ran off, terrifying images of Zahira being locked up and tortured or cut up and prepared to be barbecued like steak flooding his mind.  _'What am I doing?! Why did I bring Zahira here where she could be seen if I'm not careful?!'_  He quickly put his backpack down and opened it, only to see that she wasn't in there. He began to panic even more as more horrifying images flashed in his mind if someone else found her. "No...Zahira, no!" Max gasped as he quickly began to look for her.

Zahira walked down the endless rows of shelves, looking around at the hundreds and hundreds of books that stood on them. She had managed to slip out of the backpack when Max wasn't looking, but now she was starting to wonder where he was as she began to look through the selves.

Meanwhile, Max was frantically looking around for Zahira, running down the many aisles and looking through the shelves until he ran into someone.

"Hey! Watch where you're going, jerk!" The person that he bumped into was a tall teenager, and he didn't look happy at all.

"S-Sorry!" Max apologized, and he tried to run away before the teen grabbed his arm. "N-No, wait! P-Please don't hurt me! I'm just a child! I've got a whole life ahead of me and I don't want to live a short life like my daddy!" he begged, tears welling up in his eyes.

The teen dropped Max and looked down at the sobbing child on the floor. "Aw, poor baby. Is he crying that his daddy can't come and save him?"

Max felt like he wanted to punch this jerk in the face so hard for teasing him about his father, but he knew that there was nothing he could do about it.

Meanwhile, Zahira was walking on the high shelf when she spotted Max lying on the floor as a tall teen stood over him and continued to tease him while he begged for the jerk to stop. She could sense the hurt and helplessness in her master and she knew she had to do something about it. Growling, she jumped up from the shelf and landed right onto the teen's face, clawing and biting him the best she could with her developing claws and teeth.

"Gah, get it off me! Get it off!" the teen screamed as he tried to get the little dragon off his face.

"Zahira, what are you doing?! You're gonna make a scene!" Zahira stopped attacking upon hearing Max's voice, and she quickly jumped off the teen's head and into her master's arms. He quickly put her in his backpack and ran towards the library entrance before anyone could see what the commotion was all about.

* * *

Max didn't say a single word on the ride home, and when Avery asked him what all the noise in the library was about, he just said he didn't know. As soon as they got home, he placed Zahira on his bed and began to scold her.

"Why did you do that, Zahira?! You were supposed to stay in the backpack! You could've gotten caught and then you would've been taken away from me and...and..." Max stopped when he saw the look of utter shame on Zahira's face, and tears began to well up in his eyes as he hugged her tightly. "Zahira, I'm...I'm so sorry. I-I just...I was so worried about you, and...I don't wanna lose you. I don't want you to be taken away from me and tortured or experimented on or cooked up into barbecue ribs." The little dragon looked up at him with teary eyes. "I'm not entirely angry at you. I mean, you did save me from that bully who was..." Max paused for a moment as he remembered those hurtful words and shook his head. "Look Zahira, we need to keep you a secret. I can't have anyone, not even Mommy, see you. I just want you to be safe."

Zahira sat on Max's lap as he tried to figure out where he could keep her hidden. He couldn't hide her in his room as Avery cleaned it every week, but then he thought of the perfect place: the basement.

* * *

While Avery was busy with cooking dinner, Max thought that this was the perfect time to move Zahira to the basement. He quietly tiptoed down the hall and towards the door to the downstairs room.

"Well...this is it. The basement." Max said as he opened the door to the basement, gulping as he looked down at the steps that lead into darkness. He had a flashlight in his shaking hand. He never went down into the basement before, as he was scared of the loud noises that came from the furnace down there, and he thought it was a monster although Avery told him otherwise. Max could tell that Zahira was scared as well as she hid behind him. "I-It's okay, Zahira. Th-There's no monster down there. It's just the furnace." he told her as he turned on the flashlight and slowly walked down the stairs with her following close behind.

Once they got to the bottom of the stairs, Max found a nearby light switch and turned it on, showing him the small room that was the basement. He looked around the room, and there were several boxes lying around. He figured that one of them would be perfect to make a bed for Zahira, and he picked up a medium sized one and opened it. Inside it was a bunch of photos and a large book. Max took out the book and opened it, showing him pictures of his parents in the hospital on the day he was born. They were both smiling as they took turns holding their newborn son and showing their little bundle of joy to his other family members.

Max could feel tears streaming down his face as he stared at the pictures, especially the ones with his father in them. He then felt a nudge on his side and he turned to see Zahira looking at him a bit concerned.

"I'm...I'm fine, Zahira." Max told her as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He looked through the other boxes and found an empty one that was just the right size for Zahira. He also found an old blanket and placed it in, and then placed the little dragon in it. "There you go. I made a bed for you." Zahira wandered around in circles in the box and snuggled against the soft blanket. "See, there's nothing to be afraid of down here. You'll be perfectly safe in this box. Just wait right here. I'm gonna get some toys for you." As Max was heading back to the stairs, Zahira peeked out from the box.

_"Mmm..."_

Max gasped when he heard a small voice call to him in his mind. He turned around to see Zahira looking at him. "Did...Did you just say something?"

_"Mmmaa..."_

"Oh, my gosh! Are you trying to tell me something?!" Max asked as he quickly ran back to Zahira and picked her up.

 _"Maa...Max."_  Zahira managed to say telepathically, and then she giggled.  _"Max!"_

"Oh, my gosh...we can talk in our minds! And I'm your first word." Max hugged Zahira tightly, tears of joy streaming down his face. He couldn't be any more happy, and as he continued to hug his dragon sister, he could feel the warmth of the love between them.


	4. Chapter 4

The final bell rang at Lexington Elementary School and the students all poured out of the classrooms to head home for the weekend. Maximus Kohlberg, now a ten-year-old fifth grader, walked down the hall with his best friend Tyson Emmerson.

"Do you have the stuff for the project?" Max asked his friend as they stopped at his locker. The two of them were paired together for a science project and they were planning on spending the weekend working on it.

"Yeah, just gotta get my textbook." Ty replied as he looked into his locker. Just then, Max saw a girl walking their direction, and he gasped and quickly hid behind the locker door. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"I-It's her!" Max replied in a whisper, and he tried to hide as much as he could as the girl walked by them, being to busy talking to her friends than to notice them.

"She's gone now." Ty said, and Max came out of his hiding place. "You're seriously still acting nervous whenever Eva's around?"

"I-I don't know if I can even talk to her."

"Dude, you've had a crush on her since first grade! I thought you'd be over it by now!"

"I've been trying to talk to her, but I just can't do it! What if she thinks I'm a freak?"

Ty rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude."

* * *

The two of them were now walking down the sidewalk home.

"Hey Max, do you have a computer at your house?" Ty asked.

"Yeah, I do. Why are you asking?"

"Well, I was just thinking that we could work on the project at your house. My parents are going to be really busy with the computer this weekend and we're gonna need to do some research for the project."

Max froze. Although Ty had been to his house several times before, he had never actually stayed there for more than an hour. "I...I don't think we can."

"Why not?"

Max just hesitated. How was he going to explain to his friend that there was a mythical creature living in his house? "I...I can't tell you."

"What do you mean you can't tell me? Max, I'm your best friend and we made a pact back in second grade that we would never keep secrets from each other! Why can't we work at your house?"

"It's...It's because..." Max sighed. "Ty, I know you're not gonna believe this, but..." He hesitated for another moment, and then he said quickly, "There's a dragon living in my house."

"A WHAT?!" Ty asked in shock, and Max quickly shushed him before anyone could hear them. "Did you seriously just tell me that there's a  _dragon_  in your house?!"

"N-No really, Ty. It's true. There is a dragon living in my house."

Ty looked at Max in disbelief, which was what he expected. "I don't believe you, dude. You know dragons are nothing but myths! Are you just lying to try to make an excuse?"

"Ty, why would I lie to my best friend?" Max asked, and then he explained the whole story to Ty about how one night when he was three a dragon's egg appeared in his backyard and has been raising a dragon in secret since then. Once he finished his story, the glasses-wearing kid just stood there dumbfounded.

"So...let me get this straight. You're seriously telling me that a dragon's egg just magically appeared in your backyard when you were three?! That's the most preposterous thing I've ever heard!"

"Alright fine. If you really don't believe me, then I'll just show you her." Max said as he headed to his house.

 _'I always thought Max was crazy, but I didn't think he was_ this _crazy.'_  Ty thought.

After a five minute walk, the two arrived at Max's house and went inside where Avery greeted them. "Oh hello, boys."

"Hey, Mom." Max said as he set his backpack down.

"Mrs. Kohlberg, did Max really find a drag-" Ty began when Max quickly put his hand over his mouth as Avery raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"What he was saying was that he was wondering if we could use the computer for our school project." Max explained, causing Ty to glare at him. "So, where are you going?"

"I'm just gonna go stop by the bank. Be back in about ten minutes. And yes, you two can use the computer." Avery answered as she grabbed her purse and then she left.

"So, are you gonna show me your 'dragon sister' now?" Ty asked.

"Yes, I will." Max led them over to the basement where Zahira had been staying in for the past few years and opened the door. "She's down here."

"You seriously want me to go down there?"

"You're not afraid of the dark, are you?"

"Who, m-me? No, of course not!"

Max rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ty. You're the same kid that was teased in the third grade for still sleeping with a night light! Now come on! I don't wanna keep Zahira waiting!" He started to head down the steps to the dark basement, and Ty sighed in defeat and followed him. When they got to the bottom, Max turned on the light and called out, "Oh, Zahira! I'm home!"

At first there was nothing, but then there was rumble from behind a pile of boxes and a large blue creature Jumped out and and pinned Max to the floor.

 _"Max, you're home! I've been waiting for you!"_  Zahira exclaimed as she licked her master's face with her large tongue.

"Y-Yeah, I know! I've been missing you all day!"

It took Ty several seconds to process what was going on and when he did, he screamed and quickly grabbed a nearby broom to try to get the monster off of his friend.

"No Ty, don't!" Max shouted, causing Ty to freeze and Zahira to stop licking him. "It's okay. She's a nice dragon." He then turned to the dragon, who was in awe at this stranger. "Zahira, this is my friend Ty. Ty, this is my dragon sister, Zahira."

Zahira looked at Ty curiously and approached him. With the broom still in his hands, he began to back away with it pointed at the dragon. "N-No, st-stay back! Don't eat me!"

"It's okay, Ty. She won't hurt you. Just reach out and pet her."

"Are you crazy?! Have you seen those teeth?! They could tear my whole arm off!"

"She won't bite your arm off. Just go on and pet her."

"You promise she won't bite my hand off?"

Max nodded. "Promise."

Ty was still unsure, but he slowly reached his hand out to pet Zahira, and she sniffed his hand curiously and then let him pet her head.

"See? I told you she wouldn't bite you."

"Wow...she actually feels kinda smooth." Just then, Ty noticed that his body was starting to glow. "Whoa, what's happening?!" The light quickly faded and he looked at Zahira who was smiling at him.

_"Hello, Ty! I'm Zahira! I'm so happy to meet you!"_

"Did...Did she just talk to me?!" Ty asked in shock, thinking that this was just some crazy fever dream.

"Looks like she made a bond with you. She can communicate through our minds."

Ty didn't even know what to believe anymore. "Please tell me this is a dream."

"I'm afraid it's not."

"There's seriously a dragon standing in front of me right now?! How is that even possible?! Dragons aren't supposed to be real! What will everyone think when they find out there's a real mythical creature right here in Lexington?!"

"No Ty, you can't tell anyone about Zahira!" Max exclaimed. "If anyone were to discover her...they would take her away from me, and I don't want that. They could capture and torture her, or experiment on her, or just kill her because they would think she's too dangerous." Tears began to stream down his face at the very thought of having getting Zahira taken away from him and there was nothing he could do to save her. "She's not just a dragon, Ty. She's family. She has the same feelings that we have and can do all the things that we can. I've been doing all that I could to protect her and keep her hidden from everyone, and just the very thought of losing her breaks my heart. So please, don't tell anyone about her."

Ty looked at his friend in shock in sadness. He could tell by Max's desperate tone and face how much he loved Zahira, and his concerns about her being taken away to be experimented on or even killed were very understandable.

 _"Max, are you alright?"_  Zahira asked her master, a hint of concern in her voice.

Max wiped some tears away. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Ty looked at the concerned dragon, and then his saddened friend. "Don't worry, Max. I won't tell anyone about Zahira. It'll be a secret between just the two of us."

"R-Really? You won't?" Max asked as he wiped away more tears.

"Cross my heart and hope to die." Ty replied, crossing his fingers over his heart.

Max smiled at his friend. "Thank you, Ty. I don't know what I'd do without a friend like you."

* * *

When Avery came back, Max asked her if Ty could spend the night, and she said yes as long as his parents were okay with it. Ty got approval from his parents, and the two friends planned to spend tonight hanging out with their dragon friend.

After dinner, the two boys were on the computer doing research for their project for about an hour. After Avery had gone to bed, the two of them headed downstairs to the basement to spend some time with Zahira.

"Hmm...A7?" Max guessed as they were playing Battleship.

"Nope, miss." Ty answered, and then guessed, "G3."

"Dang it! You sank my submarine!" Max exclaimed as he now only had one ship left while Ty only had his cruiser sunk.

"Well, maybe it wouldn't be so easy to hit you if you didn't just put all your ships next to each other." Ty replied with a smirk.

Max then looked over at Zahira who was looking rather sad. "Hey Zahira, what's wrong?"

 _"Oh, nothing. It's just that..."_  Zahira looked at her master and sighed.  _"I think I need to go outside."_

"But we just took you outside. Do you really need to go pee again?"

 _"No, not that. I mean,_  outside  _outside_.  _I need to live somewhere with fresh air and I can really spread my wings. I think I'm getting a bit too big for this basement."_  Zahira answered, and then she spread her wings and knocked over a few boxes to further prove her point.

"Oh, I see." Max observed. "Yeah, I think you really do need to live outside, but we need to find a place where no one can see you."

Zahira sighed again and lowered her head onto her claws. _"I just...I just wish I wasn't a dragon. I want to be normal like you. I want to live a normal life with you and your mom and your friends, but all I can do is just hide myself from the world. I hate being here all alone while you get to go out and have fun and explore the world. Like that time you went to the beach for a whole week...and you couldn't take me with you."_

Max leaned towards her and gently petted her neck. "I know, Zahira. I wish you could spend all your time with me too, and I really wish I could've taken you with me to Myrtle Beach. You would've love it there. I don't like having to hide you from everyone, but I don't want to lose you either. That's the very last thing I want, Zahira. For you to be taken away from me."

Zahira smiled as she felt her brother's warm love radiating from his heart.  _"Max, can you sleep with me tonight? Ty can join us too if he wants."_

Max nodded and smiled at his dragon sister. "Of course, Zahira."

* * *

The next morning after breakfast, Max and Ty looked on the computer to try to find the perfect place for Zahira. They tried to find a place where she would be hidden and would have all the things that she would need, but being in the largest town in the county, there really weren't a lot of options. After some searching, they found a small but secluded area in the forest that had a large lake, countless trees, and a cave, and it was only about twenty miles away from their homes.

"Well, it looks like we found a new home for Zahira."

"Awesome!" Ty said as he high-fived his friend, and then asked, "But how are we gonna get her there?"

"We could take our bikes there." Max suggested, but then he wondered how he would be able to carry Zahira. She would be way too heavy for her to ride on his bike with him.

"Does she know how to fly?"

"No..." Max answered sheepishly, as he very rarely had time to teach Zahira how to fly. "I'll think of something by tomorrow. I know I will."

* * *

On Sunday afternoon, Max had came up with a plan to get Zahira to her new home. He picked up the house phone (as Avery wouldn't allow him to have a cell phone until he was in middle school) and called Ty's number.

"Hey, Ty."

_"Did you have to call me now? I was in the middle of studying for that math exam, and you should be too!"_

"Listen, Ty. I want you to meet me at the park tonight after 9:30."

_"What?! I can't do that! My parents would flip if they find me outside that late!"_

"Look, I know your parents have a really strict curfew, but I can't take Zahira to that forest alone. I need you to come with me. Just sneak out when your parents are asleep."

There was a long silence and then Ty sighed.  _"Okay fine, but if I get in trouble for this, I'm taking you down with me."_

"Okay, fair enough. Oh, and make sure you bring your phone." Max added and then he hung up.

* * *

Later that night, after everyone in town had gone to bed, Max was ready to put his plan into action. He had a backpack full of pictures, toys, and other things for Zahira and once he was certain that Avery was asleep, he snuck out of his room and helped her out of the basement and outside the house. He quickly took her to the side of the house where his bike was with a rope tied under the seat, carrying a small red wagon from the garage behind it.

"Alright Zahira, let's get you in here." Max said as he helped Zahira into the wagon. Fortunately, it didn't break under her weight, but it was still a pretty tight fit. "Yeah, I know it's not very comfortable, but it'll only be for a few minutes, I promise. Where we're going is not too far from here." he told her, and then he placed a blanket over her as he didn't want to risk her being spotted, even thought it was late at night. Zahira took one last look at the house that she called home for many years, and Max then got on his bike and began to head to the park.

* * *

Ty never would've thought that he would be doing this, especially with the rather strict curfew that his parents had, but here he was sneaking out of the house after 9:30, which was his bedtime. He got his cellphone like Max had told him earlier and quietly snuck out of his room. His mother was already in bed by now, but he remembered that his father was still watching a big football game on TV, and based on how it was going earlier, it was probably still going.

When Ty got downstairs, to his relief, his father was completely passed out on the couch with an empty beer bottle in his hand, practically his fourth one that night. The game was still going on and was way into overtime, which he thought was pretty ridiculous. Ty quickly and quietly headed out the front door, being extra careful not to make too much noise, and he pulled his bike out from the garage. "My parents are so gonna kill me for this." he muttered to himself as he got on his bike and rode off to meet Max at the park.

* * *

Max and Zahira waited at the park for Ty to arrive. Thankfully, there was no one around.

 _"Max, this wagon is too small!"_  Zahira complained as she barely had any leg room in the wagon.

"Yeah, I know. Just hang in there. Ty should be here any minute."

"I'm here, Max." Ty said as he approached the two of them, and he didn't look too pleased to have to sneak out late at night.

"Good, you're here. Do you have your phone with you?"

"Yeah."

"Perfect." Max said as he took Ty's phone and typed in the coordinates of where they were going on the GPS. "Okay, so it's only about twenty miles from here. It should only take us about thirty minutes to get there."

Ty looked at his phone and frowned. "You mean we have to go through the forest?"

"Of course, it's the only way we can get there. Now come on. You don't want your parents to be mad that you snuck out, don't you?" Max asked as he and Zahira rode off. Ty sighed and then followed his friend.

* * *

After about twenty minutes of riding out of town, the three of them went into the forest where Zahira's new home would be.

"Okay, so we just have to go down this path and we'll be there."

"I don't know, Max. This path seems pretty steep. If you went down there, you wouldn't be able to stop."

"Oh, will you stop being such a scaredy cat?" Max asked, and he began to ride down the steep path, but with the added weight of the wagon, he soon found himself unable to control the bike. "Oh no, I can't stop!"

"I told you!" Ty called out. "Why did I even bother coming out here?" He then saw strange lights coming towards him, and it freaked him out and he ended up riding down the steep path, and sure enough he began to lose control too.

"Great, now you can't stop too?!" Max then hit a bump, causing the rope to untie and Zahira and the wagon were left tumbling.

Zahira quickly got up and saw the two boys riding down the hill on their bikes with no way to stop.  _"Oh, no! Max! Ty! Don't worry, guys! I'm coming!"_  She tried to flap her wings, but remembered that she couldn't fly all that well.  _"Come on, wings! Don't give up on me now!"_  Zahira flapped her wings with all her might, but she was barely able to get herself a few inches off the ground.

"Oh, no! We're gonna crash!" Max shouted as he saw that they were heading right for a large rock.

"Great, just great! If my parents aren't gonna kill me already for sneaking out, then they most definitely will when they see my bike destroyed!"

The two braced themselves for impact, but they didn't feel themselves hitting the hard ground. They opened their eyes to see Zahira carrying them in her claws, and she was flying.

"Zahira, you're...you're flying!" Max exclaimed.

 _"Yes, I did it! I can fly!"_  Zahira exclaimed as well, and then she carried them down to flat land and then retrieved their bikes.  _"How about we just walk the rest of the way?"_

"Yes, that would be much better." Ty said, and then turned to Max. "Seriously dude, I don't think I'm ever having you do directions ever again."

"Hey, don't blame me. I was just going where the GPS told me."

* * *

After a few more minutes, the three of them arrived at their destination.

"Well, here we are, Zahira. Your new home." Max announced.

Zahira looked around at the area in awe. It was a small clearing surrounded by trees, a cave that looked big enough for her, and a large lake right in the center of it.  _"It's...It's beautiful."_

"Great. Looks like out work here is done."

"Finally, we're done. I better get going. My dad is gonna flip his lid if he finds out that I'm out this late." Ty said as he got on his bike and began to head back home, but not before calling out to Max, "Remember, if I get caught for this, you'll be in trouble too!"

"Yeah, I know. See you tomorrow, Ty." Max called back, and then turned to Zahira. "Well Zahira, looks like this is your home from now on." He then noticed that she was looking a bit sad. "Hey, don't worry, I'll make sure to come and visit you every free chance I get."

Zahira smiled and then nuzzled her brother.  _"Thank you, Max."_

"Well, goodnight, Zahira." Max whispered as he gave her a kiss and then got on his bike. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

 _"Goodnight, Max."_  Zahira said as she watched him head back home, and then she lay down in her cave and stared up at the bright moonlight for a while before shutting her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

_*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*_

Max groaned as he blindly moved his arm to shut off the alarm clock on his dresser. He had to get up much earlier now, as this was his first day of middle school. Summer vacation came and went, and he spent most of it staying at home, and of course hanging out with Zahira over at her new home whenever he had the chance. He also had his eleventh birthday just last week, and Avery had finally given him a cellphone.

Max got out of bed and proceeded to get dressed, eat breakfast, and brush his teeth. Once he was ready to go, he made his way to the front door where his mom was waiting.

"Have a good first day of middle school, sweetie!" Avery said as she gave her son a hug and a kiss.

"I will, Mom." Max replied as he grabbed his backpack and headed out the door.

* * *

Since Lexington Middle School was a bit farther than the elementary school to walk, Max now had to take the bus and after a fifteen minute ride, he arrived at the school. He met up with Ty at the front and they looked at their schedules to see what classes they had, and found that they both had third period science as well as the same lunch period. Soon the bell rang for school to begin and they went their separate ways.

Max found his first class without any trouble and when he got to the classroom, he saw that he was one of the first students to arrive, so there were plenty of empty desks. He took a seat at a desk in the farthest row to the left and next to the window and waited patiently for class to begin. Other students soon began to enter the room, some of which Max recognized from elementary school, and some of them sat down while others chatted with their friends about what they did over the summer.

And then she walked into the room. A girl with shining amber eyes and the most elegant white coat came in. Max gasped when he saw her and cowered in his seat while all of the other students stopped what they were doing and turned to see the girl.

 _'Eva's in my history class?!'_  Max asked himself, and he hid under his desk hoping that Eva wouldn't see him. There were a lot of empty desks around where he was sitting and he desperately hoped that she wouldn't take one of them.

To Max's relief (somewhat), Eva had taken a seat right up in the front desk two rows away, and then the final bell rang and all of the other students took their seats as the teacher walked in.

"Good morning, students." he greeted, his voice firm and authoritative. "I am Mr. Johnson, and I'll be your history teacher for this year." he continued as he wrote his name on the white board. "Now, since this is your first class on your first day of middle school, I'll make sure you all feel comfortable here, and we'll start with introductions. Would anyone like to share what they did over the summer?"

Many kids raised their hands, and Max remained cowered in his seat, hoping that Eva hadn't noticed him. He was so conflicted with his feelings and had no idea what to do right now.

Eva wasn't just an ordinary girl, as she was the daughter of the richest couple in all of Lexington, the Goldmans. Being a rich girl, she had all sorts of luxuries from fancy clothes to living in a mansion and her family even had a butler who drove her to and from school every day in a small limousine, and some kids would say that you would be extremely lucky if you manage to become friends with her. Since Max always hid whenever Eva was in sight, he never really saw what her true personality was. For all he knew, she could just another one of those snobbish rich bitches that you see all the time on TV, mocking and scoffing at people just because they aren't as rich as her, but that didn't stop him from crushing on her, there was just something about her that he loved, but the problem was he just didn't know what. Ty had always joked about how Max should ask her out on a date sometime, but he was always afraid to as he had trouble even talking to her. Besides, he wasn't quite sure if he was quite ready to be the talk of the town if he and Eva ever  _were_  to get together. If there was anything that middle school students love, it's gossip about who's dating who and many kids (especially girls) would gather around in order to get the juiciest information.

"Mr. Kohlberg," Max snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the teacher's voice and the whole class was staring at him. "You have something to share?" He didn't even realize that he had his hand raised and the teacher had just called on him.

Max gulped as he stood up out of his seat, everyone in the room having their eyes on him, including Eva. He began to sweat nervously and with the jumbled mess of his mind he uttered, "O-Over the spri-I-I mean summer, I...I got...s-spoons in...in my underpants."

The entire class started laughing and Mr. Johnson said, "Well, thank you for sharing with us, Mr. Kolhberg. Please sit down."

Max had never felt so embarrassed and humiliated in his life. He had just made a complete fool of himself in front of his classmates. In front of Eva. He was so ashamed of himself that he wanted to disappear.  _'Well, there goes any chance of me ever getting with Eva.'_

* * *

The rest of the school day was rather uneventful, but then again that's usually how the first day of middle school is, just going over class rules and introducing yourself to the other students. Max still felt incredibly upset about what happened in first period, and despite Zahira's attempts to cheer him up through their bond, he was still in a pretty sour mood for the rest of the day.

At long last, the final bell rang and the school day ended.

"Finally, I thought school would never end." Max sighed as he walked out the front with Ty.

"Still having flashbacks of first period?"

"Yeah, and I completely blew any chance of getting with Eva. Now she'll think I'm a total dork and I'm now nothing but a laughing stock to the entire sixth grade. No rich girl wants to be with a dork!" Max exclaimed, and he sighed. "Let's just go visit Zahira."

As the two boys left the school to head off to the forest, Eva watched them from the front, and she couldn't help but smile as she saw Max. She wondered why the two were even heading to the direction of the forest, but didn't think much about it as her butler came in his limo to pick her up.

* * *

Making sure that no one was following them, Max and Ty went into the woods to visit Zahira. When they arrived at the clearing, they were greeted by a giant, blue, winged wonder. Max swore that Zahira was just getting bigger and bigger every time they saw her.

 _"Max! Ty! You're here!"_  Zahira cheered as she flew over to the two and hugged them with her front claws.  _"How was you guys' first day of middle school?"_

"It was...just great." Max answered, looking down at the ground.

Zahira could tell that her master was still upset about whatever it was that he was upset about, and she thought of something that could cheer him up.  _"Max! Ty! You guys are not gonna believe what I learned!"_

"What is it, Zahira?" Ty asked.

 _"Okay, so I was at the lake the other night getting myself some dinner when I discovered that I can do this!"_  Zahira explained as she led the two over to the lake and stepped into the water.  _"Watch this!"_  She then spread her wings and droplets of water from the lake began to rise up and surround her, and then she raised her front claws and the droplets began to form into a glowing ball of light and she threw it up into the air, and it shot up into the sky and exploded into a burst of blue, creating quite a spectacle as sparkles shined in the air and drops of water rained down around them.

"Woah, that's so awesome, Zahira!" Ty exclaimed.

"Yeah, you're really discovering your powers." Although Max was very impressed with Zahira's new power, he was still feeling a bit down.

The water dragon could still feel that we was feeling down, so she suggested,  _"Hey, how about we go for a little ride?"_

"Sure, I could go for a ride." Ty answered.

"Yeah, that sounds good." Max muttered.

 _"Great! Climb aboard!"_  Zahira lay down on the ground and let the two boys climb on her back.  _"You guys ready?"_  she asked, and the two nodded.  _"Okay, here we go!"_  She then spread her wings and took off into the sky. She went up above the clouds and soared through the air, letting out a roar of excitement as she flew through the clouds, frightening several birds who were in the air in the process. Zahira absolutely loved flying, as she felt so free in the air with the feeling of the wind whipping against her scales. However, she couldn't really fly that much due to the fear of someone seeing her, so she mostly did it at night when not many people were out.

After a few minutes in the air, Zahira returned to the clearing and landed in front of her cave, lowering her body to allow the two boys to get off.  _"So, did you two have fun?"_

"Yeah, that was awesome! You're getting much better at flying, Zahira." Ty then noticed that the sun was starting to set. "Oh, I better get going. My parents don't want me to be late for dinner. See you tomorrow, Max."

"See ya, Ty." Max said as his friend left, and then he sat down on a stone and heaved a heavy sigh.

Now that it was just the two of them, Zahira figured that this was the time to ask her master what was bothering him.  _"Max, what's wrong? You've been feeling down all day. Is something the matter?"_

Max could sense the deep concern in the dragon and he sighed. "Yeah, I'm fine, Zahira. It's just that...my first day of middle school was not so good because..." He lowered his head and sighed again. "I made myself look like a complete idiot in front of Eva."

 _"Oh,"_  Zahira responded, listening intently. Max had told her many times about this Eva girl, but she didn't really know too much about her other than that she went to his school and that he had a huge crush on her since first grade apparently.  _"How so?"_

"I just...said something completely stupid in front of her. I just ruined any chance of me ever getting with her. Now she must think I'm a dork now."

Zahira just smiled and nuzzled his shoulder.  _"Oh Max, there's nothing wrong with being a dork. So you made a silly mistake, so what? The reason you feel that this Eva girl won't like you back is because you haven't shown her who you really are because you always just run and hide whenever you see her. If you just let her see the real you, then maybe she'll find something about you that she likes and return the feelings."_

Max was surprised at what Zahira said. "Wow Zahira, I...I didn't think you'd be the one giving me dating advice. Where did you even hear something like that, anyway?"

 _"Oh, I just read it in some book."_  answered the dragon, causing him to look at her in slight bewilderment.  _"What, a dragon can read, can they?"_

Max chuckled. "Of course, Zahira. You can do whatever you like." He then checked his phone and saw that it was almost six-thirty. "Well, I should be heading home now. Goodnight, Zahira."

 _"Goodnight, Max."_  Zahira replied as she watched him start to head home, hoping that the advice she gave him would help.

* * *

Being captain of the high school football team meant that you had a pretty large reputation amongst your peers. Eugene Eberhart knew that all too well, and with senior year beginning, he already had plans for his future and beyond. As you can well imagine, Eugene was a very popular guy at Lexington High School, especially with the ladies, but none of them would come close in comparison to Carmen Matherson, who just so happened to be one of the cheerleaders. They had been together for quite some time now, and today in fact, was the first year anniversary of them getting together, and they decided to spend the night at Lake Murray, just the two of them.

Carmen stood in front of the lake with her back against a red pickup truck, waiting for her lover to arrive. While she waited, she looked at her phone, smiling widely as she scrolled through the pictures that Eugene had sent her earlier. Mostly just pictures of him showing off and striking cool poses on the football field and the occasional shirtless shot. God, was he such a hunk under that uniform.

"Hey there, babe." Carmen looked up from her phone and turned to see her boyfriend in his red football jersey, looking at her with that sweet smile. She smiled back as she ran over to Eugene, embracing him and exchanging a quick kiss. "I see you brought your red baby."

Carmen rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Gene. There's nothing special about this old truck. My dad's just being stingy as he wants me to use this until I have enough money to get my own car. Speaking of which, what car would you like?"

"You're seriously asking me that question? I don't care what car it is as long as it gets us places. I would sure like to go for a ride in your hot rod, baby."

Carmen giggled and blushed. "Oh Gene, you're so funny."

Just as the two were about to kiss again, everything around them suddenly went dark, with confused them as there were barely any clouds in the sky. Not too far from where the two teens were, a strange vortex of purple and black was forming in the sky, accompanied by eerie moaning and screeching that didn't sound like anything anyone on earth had ever heard. The two looked on until a large, scaly black hand with bright purple claws emerged from the vortex.

"What the hell is that?!" Eugene asked in shock.

"I don't know, but we gotta get out of here!" Carmen shouted, and they wasted no time to get in the truck, and she quickly started the car and began to drive away from the scene.

Another hand soon emerged from the dark hole and pried the portal even wider until a dragon-like head with four large, glowing purple eyes and black scales came out. It noticed a truck trying to get away and began to fly towards it, its large bat-like wings allowing it to glide through the air and to the truck in a matter of seconds.

Inside the car, Carmen was driving like hell while Eugene was frantically dialing 911 on his phone.

"Hello police, you've got to get to Lake Murray right away! There's a strange purple vortex in the sky and there's a monster coming out of it and-" Eugene was unable to finish his frantic call as a claw grabbed him through the window and yanked him out, causing him to drop his phone.

"Eugene!" Carmen screamed as she hit the brakes, causing the car to swerve and hit a tree, and through the broken window she could see her boyfriend, bruised and bleeding, being held by the monster. Her instincts told her to go out there and help him, but she was too terrified to move and she knew that she stood absolutely no chance going up against a monster that looked like it came right out of a horror film.

The monster raised Eugene up to its face and its four eyes began to glow brightly. Before he could process what was happening, he felt its claws dig into his body as his very life force was being sucked out of him. He tried to scream, but he couldn't as it felt like he was suffocating. The creature's claws were draining out the teen's life and absorbing it into the bright purple core on its chest that looked to be made of amethyst. Once it finished, it let go and Eugene fell to the ground, his body all shriveled up like a raisin.

"Oh my god, Gene!" Carmen screamed in horror upon seeing her boyfriend's lifeless body on the ground. However, there was no time for her to grieve as the monster was now approaching her. She tried to lock the car, but it was no use as she was grabbed by the claw to suffer the same fate.

Somewhere far away from the scene, a certain water dragon shot awake with a gasp. She could feel a sense of alarm rush through her. Something wasn't right.


	6. Chapter 6

When Max and Ty arrived at school the next day, there was a huge crowd gathered at the front. Slightly confused, they went over to see what was going on. There was nervous clamoring going around and many kids seemed scared until the principal stepped out and tried to calm everyone.

"What's going on?" Ty asked.

"I don't know." Max shrugged.

Once the crowd saw the principal, the clamoring started to die down, and he waited until they were silent before he began speaking. "I'm sure many of you have already found out about what happened last night, but for those of you who haven't..." He paused for a long moment and then said, "Last night, captain of the football team at Lexington High School, Eugene Eberhart, and his girlfriend, Carmen Matherson, were found dead at Lake Murray."

There was a collection of shocked gasps, and then everyone started clamoring again, wondering how this could possibly happen.

"They were found last night by the police after Eugene called 911." the principal continued. "It is currently unknown as to what exactly caused their deaths, but police had reported that their bodies were shriveled up and there was barely any blood left in them, almost as if their lives had been sucked out."

That got everyone even more concerned, and more clamoring soon arouse.

"What are we gonna do?"

"How could that happen?"

"Who or what could have possibly done this?"

"Everyone, we understand your concerns and you all want something to be done about this immediately, so the police will be investigating the forest areas outside of town. We will do our best to ensure that you all are safe and we will send you all home immediately if another incident like this arises. Thank you." And with that, the principal went back inside and the bell rang for the school day to begin.

"That's weird. What could it be that caused those two teens to die like that?" Ty wondered.

"I don't know, but I don't like the sound of the police investigating the forest. What if they find-" Max suddenly felt a pain in his body and he flinched as he held his stomach.

"What's wrong, Max? Did you eat cereal with expired milk again?"

"N-No, I've just been getting this strange feeling in my stomach all morning. Apparently Zahira's been on edge since last night."

"Maybe she heard about the incident and she might now that there's something dangerous out there."

Max was conflicted with all the things going on this morning that he was actually starting to feel sick to his stomach. "I...I don't think I can take all this at once..."

* * *

After school had let out, Max and Ty quickly headed out to go see Zahira, but they were surprised to see Avery's car out in front of the school.

"Mom, what are you doing?" Max asked.

"I'm taking you boys home." Avery answered. "Come on and get in."

"You know Mom, we could just take the bus home." Max tried to grasp for an excuse.

"You two heard about what happened to those teens last night, didn't you?" Avery asked, and the two boys nodded. "Then I'm not risking having you two going outside by yourselves while who or whatever it is that killed them could still be out there. Now hurry up and get in."

Max didn't try to argue with his mother and the two got in the car and Avery drove them home.

* * *

Zahira paced back and fourth nervously in her cave. Ever since last night, she had gotten a very strange feeling. A feeling that there was something dangerous lurking somewhere. She desperately wanted to tell Max about it, but he had never let her fly outside her forest area because of the risk of getting discovered, but she feared that if she didn't do anything, the mysterious killer would get another unfortunate someone.

It was now late at night and Zahira was restless. Max and Ty didn't come to see her after school, and she was getting concerned for them. Just then, she could sense two familiar figures coming to the cave, and she looked to see that the two boys were here, with Ty not looking happy in the slightest.

"I can't believe you made me sneak out of my house in the middle of the night again."

"Look Ty, I know you don't like to disobey your parents, but we got a potentially bigger problem on our hands."

Zahira got up and flew over to the two of them. _"Oh, thank goodness you two are safe. I was getting so worried about you."_

"Zahira, what's going on?" Max asked. "You've been feeling on edge all day."

_"I don't know, Max. But I feel that there's something out there. Whatever it is, it doesn't seem to be good."_

"Look Zahira, we came because we have to tell you something. We just heard on the news that the police is going to be searching the outskirts of town, including the forest, so that means that they might find this spot and discover you, which means..." Max hesitated. "They might think that you were the one responsible for the deaths of those teens."

Zahira perked up in shock. She could sense the sadness in her master and also see tears forming in his eyes as he continued.

"And if they find you, then...they'll do whatever they can to hunt you down and...potentially kill you, and I don't want that." Max put his hand on his dragon's head. "Zahira, I know you hate being far away from me, but I just want you to be safe. I want you to move to the mountains until this whole thing dies down."

Zahira gave him a sympathetic smile.  _"Okay, Max. I'll move over to the mountains until this whole thing clears up, but I don't want to do it alone. I want you and Ty to come with me."_

"I really wish we could, Zahira, but our parents aren't letting us step outside our house."

"Yeah, and they'll probably kill me if they found out I snuck out again." Ty muttered.

"I'm I sorry I can't move with you, Zahira."

_"No Max, I understand. Your parents want you to be safe, and I'll just move to the mountains by myself if I really have to."_

Max smiled. "Thank you for understanding, Zahira."

* * *

Over the next few days, no reports of any other strange deaths had been found, but the entire town was still a bit on edge with the possibility that the monster that caused the strange deaths of those teenagers could still be out there somewhere. In order to keep the town safe, the police made the areas outside of town off limits for citizens and trespassers and issued a 9 pm curfew and anyone who broke it would face consequences. Many parents were using their sick and vacation days off work in order to stay home and drive their kids to and from school every day, and many forbid them from going outside, just like Avery had done.

Since Max couldn't go outside to visit Zahira, he was stuck at home for most of the day with barely anything to do. He often called Ty, but all they really talked about was school stuff, and any middle schooler knew that it was definitely not the most exciting thing in the world.

"Hey Ty, you bored and got nothing to do?" Max asked as he lay on his bed with his phone in hand.

_"No, not really. I've got some math homework to keep me occupied. You should be studying too. We got a test on Wednesday, you know."_

"Aw, come on Ty, you know I hate Algebra!" Max groaned, and he sighed. "I just wish I could go see Zahira."

_"Yeah, I know. But at least she's somewhere where the police won't find her."_

"Yeah, I hope so."

_"You know, Max, I've been wanting to ask you this. How's your relationship status going with Eva?"_

Max's eyes went wide and his face turned deep red. "I-I, uh..."

_"You're still too nervous to just say hi to her and you still have flashbacks of the first day of school, don't you?"_

Max sighed. "Yes. Why do you care so much about it?"

_"Because I just want to help you, man. If you ever want to get with Eva, then running and hiding whenever you see her will get you nowhere."_

"But how do I even get her to notice me?"

_"You can just ask her to go out with you. When you see her at first period tomorrow, just walk up to her and say something simple like 'Hey Eva, you wanna go out with me tonight?' and if she says yes, then you've got the first step down no problem."_

"But what if she says 'No Max, I won't go out with you because you're a total dork.'?"

_"She's not gonna say that, man. Stop thinking that one little slip up has ruined your chances of going out with a girl forever. We all mess up sometimes. So, can you try to ask Eva out tomorrow?"_

"A-Alright, Ty. I'll try to speak to Eva. If it doesn't kill me first."

_"Okay, later man."_

"Later." Max said as he hung up. He sighed as he sat up and looked at the clock. It was only two in the afternoon, and he was so bored. Avery had told him that he should clean his closet, since it was an absolute mess, and since he had nothing else to do, he decided to do just that.

Max went over to his closet and opened it, only to be met with a large pile of dirty clothes, old comic books, and candy wrappers. He began to clean out the closet, putting clothes that no longer fit him and stuff that he didn't want anymore in a trash bag for Avery to donate while putting the candy wrappers and other junk in another one to throw away.

While Max was digging through his dirty clothes, he noticed something blue and cyan and picked it up. It was a piece of a shell from Zahira's egg when she hatched, making him smile as he remembered the day that he found the egg and the dragon was brought into the world. He wondered why it hadn't broken down after all these years, and that's when he noticed that it was beginning to glow. Startled, he tried to let go of it, but it was stuck to his hand as the bright blue light enveloped his arm. He braced himself for something, but the light quickly faded and he felt nothing change.

Max sighed in relief that he was still in one piece, but then noticed that there was now a strange watch-like device around his wrist. It was a round on the top with a symbol of a water droplet in the center, most likely to coincide with Zahira's element. There were also several buttons on the sides and the symbol of a dragon's head ran along the wrist strap.

"What is this thing?" Max asked as he pushed a button on the side, turning the device on and he was greeted by a message that read, "Hold still." A bright blue ray of light then shone from the watch and scanned his body, and once it finished, a holograph appeared and it presented all of his data, from his birthdate to his more...personal info. "Cool. What else can this thing do?" Max pushed the other buttons, but none of them seemed to do anything at the moment. He figured that he would find out what it could do later.

* * *

Somewhere in the outskirts of town, a portal appeared out of the blue, except this one was gold and glowing. Seconds later, a man clad in gold and red armor came out along with a large red and tan creature with large wings.

The man looked around at the surrounding area, examining the dark woods. "Yep, this is Planet Earth." he commented, and he pushed a button on the red and gold device on his wrist and after it finished scanning the area, a screen popped up and told him that they were currently in Lexington, South Carolina. "This is the last place in the multiverse where the next Water Dragon and Rider could be." He looked up at the starry night sky and sighed. "Master Lionel wanted Earth to be the last place to search for the Rider, and if they're not here, then it looks like we'll have nowhere else to turn. Come Flamemonger, we must continue our search." And so the man and his partner set out into the forest to search for the Rider.


	7. The Date

 

On Monday morning at school, Max made it his mission to talk to Eva and ask her out. He arrived at first period before the bell, and Ty was right beside him in case he tried to chicken out and run.

As expected, Max was incredibly nervous and shaking uncontrollably. "I-I-I don't know, Ty. I-I don't think I can do this."

"Come on, man, we've been practicing this! All you gotta do is ask her out. It really isn't that hard." Ty then noticed Eva coming down the hall. "Here she comes." As soon as Max saw her, he quickly tried to run and hide so that she wouldn't see him, but his friend stopped him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"I-I can't do this, Ty! She's totally gonna think I'm a dork and reject me!"

"Max, are you a boy, or are you a man?" Ty asked. "If you wanna be a man, then you're gonna go over there and ask Eva out!"

Max looked to see Eva coming their way, and he stood up and put on a determined face.  _'You can do this, Max. Be a man and ask Eva out!'_  he told himself, and he walked over to her and tried to his best to not look nervous. "H-H-Hi, Eva." he greeted, already feeling stomach in knots.

"Oh, hi Max."

"L-Listen Eva, I...I want to ask you something." Max began to sweat buckets as Eva stood there waiting for him to continue.  _'Come on, man. You have her. Don't you dare wuss out!'_  He gulped and then asked, "W-Will you...Will you go out with me tonight?"

Eva was surprised at that. "Sure, Max." That answer made Max's eyes go wide. "What time?"

"H-How about 6:30?"

"Sounds good. See you in history." Eva said as she walked away.

Max stood there in shock. "I...I can't believe it. She...She actually said yes! I'm going out with Eva tonight!" he laughed, and then seconds later he fell to the floor and fainted.

* * *

Max gulped as he fixed his outfit for the thousandth time. He still couldn't believe that he had just asked out the richest girl in the entire school, and she actually said yes. So here he was, an absolute nervous wreck as he prepared himself. After adjusting his tie once again, Max paced back and fourth nervously, going over what he and Ty had discussed regarding the date during lunch earlier.

_"First things first: don't show up late. Girls really hate it when you're late. Second thing: you must be courteous to her, which means hold the doors for her and when she asks for something, you get it for her. And third and most importantly: don't screw up!"_

Max sighed as he looked at himself in the mirror. His hair was neatly combed and he was wearing a tuxedo that Avery had let him use for tonight, although it took quite a lot of convincing (as well as letting him head out of the house tonight at all, as she was still deeply concerned for his safety). She told him that it was a very special tux, as it used to belong to his father and he wore it at the prom back when they were dating in high school.

Max never really knew his father, as he was only a baby when...it happened. Every year on August 29, Avery would tell him the story of what happened to Adam Kohlberg on that fateful night. That night when he was driving home from work to see his wife and newborn son when he got into a deadly accident with a drunk driver, how devastated she was when she got a call from the hospital telling her about the accident, and her absolute heartbreak when the doctors told her that her husband wouldn't make it. She would also tell him that Adam's last moments in the hospital bed was seeing his sobbing wife and holding his newborn son's hand as he soon passed. Every year she would also show him a slideshow video that was shown at his funeral, and it would play a song that they danced to at their wedding, and she would burst into tears every time she heard it. Although all he had of his father was pictures and a video, Max could tell that Adam was a great man and had touched the hearts of many, only for some drunk bastard to come and take all that away just like that.

The absence of his father had gotten him teased and bullied at school multiple times, particularly that one time in first grade when his school was having a father-son day, but he couldn't participate since he didn't have a father to spend the day with. This resulted in him getting teased by a bunch of jerks who ridiculed him with the fact that they had fathers and he didn't. Max remembered how upset he was that day, and he could also feel the fury in Zahira as she wanted to do all sorts of things to those jerks and she would stop at nothing until they got what they deserved. Luckily his teacher had stepped in and gave those bullies proper discipline and even offered him from the cafeteria to help him feel better.

Max's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock on the bathroom door. "Hey Max, are you ready?" Avery asked.

"Y-Yeah Mom, I'm ready." Max answered as he adjusted his tie one last time. Although Avery had offered to drive him over to the Goldmans' house, he insisted that he would go there himself by bike. He knew that a bike wouldn't be the most snazzy way of transportation for a date (especially with a rich girl), but was Eva really expecting him to arrive in a fancy limousine? She knew that he couldn't afford something like that, and all he was concerned about right now was getting to her house on time.

Once Max felt he was truly ready, he stepped out of the bathroom and Avery hugged and kissed him. "Have fun with Eva, sweetie. If anything happens to either of you, call me immediately, and you better be home before 9:00."

"I will, Mom." Max replied as he grabbed his phone and wallet and headed out the door. He got on his bike and used the GPS on his phone to map the way to the Goldmans' house. Thankfully, it was only fifteen miles away and he figured that he could get there in twenty minutes.  _'Here I come, Eva.'_  he thought as he was off.

* * *

Somewhere in the forest, a man and his dragon partner were walking. The man was scanning all around the area with his device, but so far he found nothing.

 _"Master Xiro, do you really think the next Water Dragon and Rider are here?"_  asked the dragon through their bond.

"Where else is there to search? We've spent several years searching the entire Zeta Quadrant for the next Water Dragon and Rider, and I am  _not_  giving up until we find them." the man answered.

Just then, the dragon could hear voices from somewhere.  _"Umm...Master Xiro, I think there's others here."_

"Not to worry, Flamemonger. I have just the solution." the man pushed a few buttons on his wrist and seconds later both dragon and rider were outlined in light and then became invisible.

A police officer entered the area, looking around with their flashlight, but found nothing. "That's strange. I swear I head voices coming from over here." he said to himself, and then he left to join the rest of the group of cops in their search through the forest.

* * *

Max knew that the Goldmans were a very rich family, but what he saw in front of him looked like something out of a millionaire's fantasy. The Goldmans' house was a huge mansion with a beautifully trimmed garden with golden fountains and a golden gate that served as the entrance. He didn't know if what he was seeing was even real, and he rubbed his eyes a few times to make sure, and the same image was in front of him.

Once Max reached the gate, he spotted Eva waiting at the front door, and he checked the time on his phone and it was 6:30. "Perfect. Right on time." he said to himself as the gate opened and he walked along the long red carpet that stretched along the front yard. He felt like he was about to meet a celebrity as he walked up to the front and met up with Eva, his heart pounding out of his chest. "H-Hey, Eva."

"Oh hey, Max." greeted. "You're right on time."

"Y-Yep, I made sure I'd be on time. D-Didn't wanna disappoint you by showing up late!" Max chuckled. "So...are you ready to go out?"

"Yeah. My parents are already know that I'm going out tonight, though they weren't really thrilled when I told them that it was you. They're still a bit worried about...you know."

"D-Don't worry, Eva, I'll make sure absolutely nothing happens to you! Maximus Kohlberg will be your bodyguard!" Max announced, and without thinking, he wrapped his arms around Eva's and led them down the stairs.

"Max, what are you doing?"

"Oh, j-just being a gentleman and leading you down the carpet...like a gentleman!"

"Max, you really don't have to-"

"I know, Eva! I just wanna make sure you have the best night of your life!" Max exclaimed as he continued to lead them through the front yard and once they got out of the gate, he asked, "So...what do you want to do?"

"Do you have any ideas?"

"N-No no, I don't mind what we do! I will gladly do whatever you want?"

"Well...I was thinking we could go down to the soda shop and then go see a movie. What movie would you like to see?"

"What, m-me? W-Well, I-I don't care what movie we see, as long as it's what you want."

"Well...I've kinda been wanting to go see that Dyna-Moe movie for quite some time."

"R-Really? B-Because I've...I've been wanting to see that too."

Eva smiled. "Perfect. We'll go to the soda shop for a bit and then go see the Dyna-Moe movie. That sound good?"

"S-Sounds good to me." Max agreed as they headed towards the town.  _'This isn't so bad. Maybe I'll be able to win Eva over after all.'_

* * *

Zahira paced back in fourth nervously in the mountains. There hadn't been any news of attacks or strange deaths for the past few days, but she could still feel it. There was something out there somewhere, and whatever it is, it wasn't good. She was very tempted to go fly over to Max and warn him about it, but he told her about his date with Eva tonight, and she promised that she wouldn't come to him unless it was an emergency. A life-or-death situation emergency.

_"Max, please be careful."_

* * *

Downtown, things was going smoothly for Max as he and Eva had arrived at the soda shop. He could feel Zahira's anxiousness, but he just shrugged it off the best he could and tried to focus on enjoying his date.  _'No. Nothing bad's gonna happen tonight. Eva and I are just gonna go see a movie and everything will be just fine.'_  After buying a milkshake for Eva and a root beer float for himself, he sat down at the table where she was seated. "Here you go, Eva."

"Thank you, Max." Eva said as she accepted the shake. As they drank their beverages, she wanted to compliment the tux he was wearing. "I really like your tux, Max. Where did you get it?"

"Oh, I...I didn't buy this tux. It belonged to my father before he...passed." Max answered as he lowered his head.

Eva was surprised at this and then asked, "Max, what happened to your father? I-I mean, it's really rude for me to ask, but how did he...pass?"

Max lifted his head up and sighed. "I was only a baby when it happened, but my mom told me that one night he was driving home from work when he got into an accident with a drunk driver, and he...he didn't make it." He turned away and sighed again. "I'm sure he was a good man...but I never got a chance to see what a loving father he could be."

Eva was shocked upon hearing this, and she look at the boy with sympathy. "Max, I'm...I'm so sorry about what happened to your father. I...I can't imagine how horrible it is that you lost him so early in your life. You must miss him a lot."

"Yeah, and I really wish it wasn't that way. In first grade all those kids teased me because I didn't have a dad to do the father-son thing. It was that day when I learned how cruel the world can be sometimes. That there's always going to be a bunch of jerks that will ridicule you just because they have something that you don't. I'm going to be honest with you, Eva. I've always felt like an outcast, not just about my dad, but because I felt like barely anyone understood me. Anyone except my mom and Ty. And how is it that I, a complete nobody that has accomplished absolutely nothing in his life and laughing stock of the sixth grade, end up asking the richest girl in the whole school out before other guys that are much more deserving of having dates?"

"Maximus Kolhberg, don't you dare say that! I don't think you're a nobody! You really think that just because I'm from a rich family means that I don't care about people like you?! You think I like getting treated like royalty by everybody and getting spoiled rotten by my parents?!" Eva asked, causing Max's eyes to widen in shock. "Because I...I don't really like the special treatment that everyone gives me. I just...I just want to be treated like a normal, regular child and not a princess who can't even buy her own clothes. Everyone wishes that they could be as rich as my family and have all the fancy things that I have, but to be completely honest with you...being rich isn't as fun and exciting as people think it is. Money does not buy you happiness."

Now Max was shocked at what had revealed to him. "Eva, I...I never knew you felt that way."

"Because I never told anyone about how I truly feel, until now. Promise you won't tell anyone about it? I promise I won't tell anyone about your dad."

Max nodded. "Promise."

They finished their drinks in silence, and when they were done Eva asked, "Now, are we going to go see the movie or not?"

Max nodded again. "Of course we are." They then left the shop, and he held the door for her as they did.

* * *

It was only about a ten minute walk from the soda shop to the movie theater, and when the two of them got there, Max paid for the tickets and they went inside.

"Okay, the movie's starting in ten minutes. How about you go find seats for us while I get the popcorn?"

"Okay." Eva nodded as she headed off to the movie, which was in the third theater on the left.

Max went to the concession stand with the shortest line and settled on getting on a large popcorn for them to share.  _'This isn't so bad after all. Now Eva and I will be watching a movie together, and there will be no-'_

Suddenly, there was a loud explosion from somewhere and it knocked him off his feet. As he struggled to get up, he saw a bunch of people running out of the left side of the theater screaming.

"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES, EVERYONE!"

"SOMEONE CALL THE POLICE! THERE'S A MONSTER IN THEATER NINE!"

"IT'S GONNA KILL US ALL!"

Max managed to crawl away to avoid getting trampled by the screaming people who were running out of the theater for their lives. As he looked through the crowd, he couldn't see Eva anywhere and then realized that someone mentioned the monster being in theater nine, which was where she was heading to. "Oh no, Eva!" Max quickly got on his feet and began to run to the theater, fearing the worst might happen to her.


	8. The Attack

Zahira awoke with a start. She had been taking a nap on the cliffside to try to get her mind off of things and ease her nerves a bit, but then she suddenly had a sense of alarm rush through her, and she knew that it only meant one thing. Max was in great danger and the monster was nearby in the area where he was at, but if she were to fly over to him, then that would mean that she would be exposed to the world, which was what he had been trying so hard to keep a secret for several years. But she could sense the fear and panic in her master through their bond and it told her that he really needed her right now, so she apologized to her brother before taking off and heading towards the town.  _"Don't worry, Max. I'm coming."_

Not too far from the mountains, a man and his dragon partner watched as the young water dragon flew away.

 _"Is that..."_  asked the dragon through their bond.

The man nodded with a smile. "It is. The next water dragon. We need to go after them." He then got on his dragon partner and they took off into the sky.

* * *

It didn't take long at all for the police to arrive at the movie theater where they were helping everyone evacuate while forbidding anyone from going in. Several ambulances were at the scene as well and paramedics were treating those who were injured and many bystanders watched from the distance as the horrific scene was unfolding. It was complete chaos.

"Everyone, please remain calm! We're doing all that we can to-" There was then another explosion from inside the theater, and a cop that was helping a man who had injured his leg was sent flying outside and hit the hard concrete ground. One of the cops quickly took out his walkie-talkie and shouted, "Chief, we have an officer down! Repeat, officer down! We need backup and fast!"

Inside the theater, Max was struggling as he was being held back by a cop who was trying to get him out. "No, please! Let me go! I need to go in that theater! My friend's trapped in there!"

"Kid, you need to get out of here and fast! This place is too dangerous!"

"But I need to save her!" Max shouted, and after some struggling, he managed to break free from the cop's grasp and began to run as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Kid, what are you doing?! You're gonna get yourself killed!" the cop shouted, but the boy just ignored him as he ran into the theater where the monster was reported to be in.

"Eva?! Eva, are you in here?!" Max asked as he frantically looked around. He then heard a scream from above and he looked up and his blood turned to ice at what he saw. Eva was held high up in the air, and holding her was a giant dragonic creature, and it was pitch black and had four large glowing purple eyes with an amethyst core in its chest. Max could also make out a figure clad in a black robe riding on top of the creature. Could it possibly be another...?

Before he could ponder all of this, the creature turned its head to him and growled.

"Well, what do we have here?" asked the black-clad figure.

"Max, what are you doing?! Get out of here!" Eva shouted.

"No, Eva! I'm not leaving without you!" Max shouted back.

The shady figure took note of this. "So, you're trying to save your girl? Not a chance. Helheim, destroy him!" he ordered, and the monster nodded and then began to charge a beam of purple energy from the core in its chest.

"Max, no!" Eva shouted, but Max stood there frozen. For some reason he couldn't move his legs to get himself out of the way of the incoming attack, and seconds later, the creature fired its beam, creating a huge explosion. "Max!"

When the smoke cleared however, Max was perfectly fine, as a light blue barrier was surrounding him. Right as the beam fired, he put his arms in front of his body to try to shield himself, and the watch-like device on his wrist activated and created a protective barrier that completely blocked the attack.

Feeling nothing happen to his body, Max slowly opened his eyes and saw the barrier that had protected him. He then looked at himself and saw that he was now clad in blue and silver armor. The barrier then faded and he look at his hand and saw a swirl of blue energy forming on his palm.  _'What's going on? What's this strange power I'm feeling?'_

The figure saw this transformation and grinned to himself. "It's really him. That child is really the next Water Dragon Rider." He then ordered to his dragon, "Helheim, kill the girl!"

The creature moved its sharp claws up Eva's body and its four eyes began to glow brightly as she screamed, "MAX, HELP!"

Max knew he had to do something fast and before he could make a move, there was a loud roar from somewhere and he looked up to see something crash through the roof at blinding speed and give a hard tackle to the creature right in its side, causing it to hit the wall and drop Eva. He quickly ran over while holding out his arms and caught her. "Eva, are you okay?"

"I...I don't know..." Eva answered, and then the two of them looked up to see a giant blue dragon standing right in front of them.

"Zahira!" Max gasped, shocked to see his dragon here.

 _"Max, get her out of here!"_  Zahira shouted through their bond.  _"I'll keep them distracted! You just go and get her someplace safe!"_

Max wasn't so sure about it, but nodded and quickly ran out of the theater and towards the entrance, jumping over rubble and dead bodies and avoiding falling debris. "Don't worry, Eva. I'll get us out of here. Hang on." He managed to get them outside to the plaza where a huge crowd of people, from cops to paramedics, to bystanders and even news reporters, was watching the whole scene. He knew that these people were going to ask as to what was really going on in there and why he was in armor, but he quickly shook them off as he took her to the nearest ambulance.

"M-Max, wh...what's going on?" Eva asked, struggling to stay conscious.

Max bit his lip, unsure of what to say and sighed. "Look, Eva...I'll explain later." was all he answered, and he turned to the medic. "Please make sure she's okay." He then turned around and with a deep breath, began to run back into the theater, much to the crowd's shock.

"What's that kid doing?!"

"He's gonna get himself killed!"

"What is he, crazy?!"

Max heard all the shouts and protests coming from behind him, but that wasn't stopping him as he ran back in to deal with the monster.

* * *

Avery nervously glanced at the clock for practically the thousandth time. It had been about an hour since Max had left home to go out with a girl from school, and while there had been no reports of strange deaths recently, she was still incredibly worried about her son's safety. Her worries were only going to get worse when she heard the TV and hurried over to see a breaking news report about an attack at the movie theater at the downtown plaza.

_"Many people have been found dead and many more are injured in a sudden attack at the downtown movie theater this evening. We currently don't know who or what it is that's causing this attack, but witnesses say-"_

_"Look! Someone's coming!" someone shouted, and the camera turned to show two middle school kids coming out of the theater. One of them, a girl, was being held in the arms of a boy clad in blue and silver armor, and he rushed towards a paramedic._

_"It appears that a brave young man has rescued a girl, though it seems a bit odd that he's in armor."_

_"Wait, he's going back in!" shouted another bystander, and the camera turned to see that the boy was in fact running back into the theater._

Avery thought that the boy looked familiar, and when the camera got a closeup on him as he ran back into the theater, she shrieked in horror. "Oh my God, that's my son!"

* * *

At the Emmerson's house, Ty was busy studying when he heard quite a commotion coming from downstairs. Thinking that it was just his dad yelling at another one of those games, he rolled his eyes as he headed downstairs to see what the noise was all about, only for his eyes to go wide as he saw a breaking news report about an attack at the movie theater.

As his parents watched an armor-clad boy run back into the theater, his mother asked, "Wait Ty, is that your friend from school?!"

"What's he doing running into that theater?! Doesn't he know that's where the monster is?!"

Ty could only watch in shock as he watched his friend run into the source of the danger. He also had a bad feeling that a certain water dragon was there too.

* * *

Max knew that running back inside a movie theater where a giant, murderous monster was attacking was not the best idea, especially with a large crowd of people watching, but he knew that he was the only one who could stop this. When he got back inside the theater, he found Zahira and the dark dragon out in the main lobby. Luckily, she didn't look to be too hurt, but it looked like it wasn't an easy fight either.

"Zahira!" Max called, and both dragons turned to see him. The dark dragon was about to slash at the water dragon with its glowing purple claws, but she quickly dodged and then picked up a nearby popcorn machine and threw hard it at its head, stunning it for a moment and allowing her to fly over to her master. "Zahira, are you okay?"

 _"Yes Max, I'm fine."_  Zahira answered.  _"Although, those two are very tough."_  She then eyed the core on the dark dragon's chest.  _"That core. It must be its weak spot. Maybe if we do enough damage to it, that's how we'll defeat them."_

"Come on, Zahira. We'll take them on together." Max said, putting his hand on Zahira's claw. Although they had little to no experience in dragon combat, they were determined to stop this monster from causing any more damage and deaths.

Just then, the device on Max's wrist began to glow and the boy and the dragon were enveloped in a bright blue light. The creature, having recovered from its daze, hissed and shielded its eyes from the bright light. The rider however, looked on, grinning as he witnessed the transformation unfold. "Yes, this is it."

From outside, the crowd could see a blinding light coming from the inside of the theater, and many took out their phones to try to capture the scene.

When the light faded, Max and Zahira were now completely covered head to toe in armor. Max's armor was upgraded to the point where you couldn't recognize him from under there, as his helmet was now sporting a dark blue visor that concealed his face, and it now had the design of a dragon's head. The rest of his armor was much more heavier and had spikes on his gauntlets and shoulder pads. A dark blue cape flowed behind him, and it had the design of four dragons surrounding the water droplet symbol in the middle. A blue gem was embedded on the chest of his armor and his hands were glowing with bright blue energy.

Zahira's body was also completely clad in armor as well, with the same blue and silver armor covering her entire body from head to tail as silver spikes ran along her back, as well as sharp blades that covered each of her claws. Both dragon and rider could feel a whole new power surge through them like no other.

Max looked at his and Zahira's newly armor-clad bodies and grinned to himself. "Oh yeah, now this is what I'm talking about!"

"So, I see you brought out your full power." said the mysterious rider. "Very impressive. Now that we've got you right here, you'll either fight or surrender in the name of Damascus!"

Max didn't know who this Damascus was, but whoever it was, it didn't sound like anyone with any good intentions. "No! We won't let you take us to whoever this Damascus is! We'll defeat you and take you back to wherever you came from!" he shouted as he got on Zahira and they prepared to fight.

"Very well then. If you refuse to surrender to us, then it looks like we'll have to do it by force!" the rider shouted as the dark dragon let out a loud roar. It then began to charge at the two, and at a very impressive speed, Zahira flew right into the dark dragon's chest just as it was about to strike, causing them to crash into the wall and sending debris flying everywhere.

The dark dragon tried to get up, but was suddenly forced back against the wall as Zahira's claws were pressed firmly against its arms and legs with her talons digging into its flesh. It cried out as blood started to seep out of its puncture wounds, and the water dragon figured that now would be the time to end this.

 _'Aim for the core.'_  Max told himself as he held his hand out, and a sphere of blue energy began to form at his palm.

"Not so fast." said the rider, and the dark dragon fired a blast of energy from its core, sending them all the way to the other side of the theater, but luckily it wasn't that too big of a blow thanks to the armor. "You really think we'll let you defeat us this easily? Not a chance." The dark dragon then grew a second pair of arms and used them to cover up the core.

Max and Zahira got up from their hard landing and the water dragon growled upon seeing the dark dragon protecting its core.  _"Blast! We're gonna have to find another way to reach that core!"_

"But how?" Max asked as he adjusted his helmet.

Zahira outside and got an idea. A very risky idea.  _"Max, we're gonna have to take this fight outside."_

"What?! Zahira, we can't! There's a huge crowd of people standing outside, and if we go out there, we'll just be putting them in even more danger, and worse...you'll be exposed!"

_"I know it's really risky, but I have a plan. Just trust me!"_

Max was very reluctant, but if Zahira had a plan to stop this monster, then so be it. "Alright Zahira, let's do it." he said as he got on his dragon.

Just as the dark dragon was about to charge at them again, Zahira flew out of the way just as it hit the ground and headed towards the front entrance.

Outside, the crowd watched as two armor-clad figures came outside.

"There it is! There's the monster!" someone shouted, and many cops and SWAT units raised their guns and prepared to fire at the armored beast while many bystanders took out their cellphones and took pictures and recorded the strange creature.

"No wait, stop! Don't shoot!" Max shouted as loud as he could. "She's not the monster! She's not gonna hurt any of you! The real monster's in there-"

There was suddenly a loud and deafening explosion, sending broken glass and debris everywhere and Zahira to skid back several feet. The dark dragon burst out the front entrance, and many people started screaming and running away from the scene while others were either too terrified to move or busy recording and taking pictures.

"Zahira, what's your plan?" Max asked.

 _"I know you might not like this, but hold your breath."_  Zahira glanced over at a nearby manhole, and then dived into the manhole and into the waters of the sewer.

The dark dragon saw the two disappear into the manhole. It reached a claw into the sewers and began scratching its claws against the concrete.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake, and the dark dragon and remaining bystanders looked around to see where it was coming from, and then they saw something amazing emerge out of the manhole on the opposite side of the street. Coming out of the man was a giant dragon made entirely of water. It was rather dirty water, but it was still water. In the dragon's chest was Max and Zahira with the water dragon's movements matching hers.

"It's game over for you!" Max shouted after realizing that he could breath underwater, and the water dragon roared.  _'I'm seriously gonna need to shower after this.'_

The water dragon then released several globs of sewer matter at the dark dragon, at which it swatted away until some of it got in its eyes, causing it to hiss and frantically wipe its eyes with its front claws. While it was distracted, the water dragon put its claws together and fired a ball of blue energy which exploded into a bright burst of light, sending the dark dragon falling to the ground and its second pair of arms parted, leaving its core exposed.

"Now's our chance!" Max shouted, and the water dragon's body started glowing brightly and it charged towards the dark dragon, its maw opening wide. Zahira raised her claws, and the water dragon did as well and it slashed the core, causing it to crack as the creature roared in intense pain.

"D-Dammit...we got beat. That kid really is strong..." the ride muttered, feeling the intense pain in his dragon. "You may have won this time, Rider, but we  _will_  be back." And with that, he and his dragon's bodies turned black and they disappeared into nothingness.

The water dragon landed on the ground and disappeared, leaving Max and Zahira standing there in front of a shocked crowd. "We...We did it. We beat them. We really beat them!"

The crowd began cheering that the monster was now gone, several news reporters quickly rushed over to the two them to ask them questions, but before they could get any answers, a car pulled up and out came a very frantic Avery.

"Max!" she exclaimed as she ran over to her son, pushing aside several people in order to reach him, and once she did she gave him the biggest and tightest hug she could ever give. "Maximus Kohlberg, you practically gave me a heart attack! Are you alright?!"

Max took off his helmet and smiled at his mother. "Yeah, Mom. I'm fine."

"Max, what happened? Where did you get that armor? What is that awful smell?! And what the heck is that thing?!" Avery shrieked upon seeing the armored beast standing right next to her son.

Max only chuckled as he rubbed the back of his neck. It looked like he had quite a lot of explaining to do.


End file.
